With last week’s Mobile World Congress 2015 in the books, attention now turns to the much anticipated launch of the Apple Watch in April. While the Apple Watch isn’t the first smartwatch on the market, it’s a hope in the industry that it brings an awareness to the wide variety of smartwatches available.
As we previously mentioned, LG Mobile introduced their latest smartwatch—LG Watch Urbane–powered by Android Wear at Mobile World Congress 2015. This watch is being billed as a classic timepiece to appeal to a broader audience than just techies. However, as we also mentioned the apps available for this smartwatch are limited as of now.
Last year, an estimated 720,000 Android Wear-powered smartwatches were shipped with the Moto 360 leading the way. However, Pebble—the first smartwatch—remained strong and the LG G Watch R, out performed expectations. This relatively small number of shipments (about 16 percent of the overall shipments of smart wearable bands) could potentially increase with the launch of the Apple Watch.
Because there has been so much press about the Apple Watch, sales will likely cause Android consumers to search for their own comparable smartwatches. Some estimate that the Apple Watch could sell more than a million devices in just the first month. And with Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook describing the various potential uses for the Apple Watch—replacing your car keys for instance—it’s little wonder why we’re all so pumped for April.
Here at Echo, we’ve already designed two apps for the Apple Watch. Can’t get into the nitty gritty right now, but one will be a SunRail app that will work much like the Orlando Transit app we developed to help you check the SunRail schedule, and the other will allow you to track your Fitness.
“2015 is the year when wearable technology becomes a regular part of our lives,” is what our CEO, Carlos Carbonell, said at the first Wearable Tech Meetup of 2015. And for most people, the Apple Watch will be the first major wearable they buy and use. This is just the beginning of an exciting period in tech and for us here at Echo!
